Across Texas and the nation, the far-right is engaged in a coordinated campaign to erase LGBTQIA+ stories and identities by banning books from schools and libraries. According to a PEN America report, Texas had the second-highest number of book-banning instances during the 2022-23 school year. 30% of the books banned across the U.S. had LGBTQIA+ […]
Education
Texas has an increasingly diverse public education system with a public school enrollment of more than 5 million. Unfortunately, that public education system is also the target of right-wing extremists seeking to privatize our neighborhood public schools and push a culture-war agenda in the classroom.
To that end, Texas Freedom Network tirelessly fights for Texas public school students at the Capitol — opposing private school voucher legislation, sticking up for students’ freedoms, advocating for truthful, censorship-free lessons and textbooks, and more. We’ve also conducted groundbreaking research into what is taught in classrooms on subjects like sex education and religion.
Resources
- Teach the Truth: Texans United Against Censorship in Education
- Can This Class Be Saved? The ‘Hobby Lobby’ Public School Bible Curriculum (2014 report)
- Reading, Writing & Religion II (2013 report)
- Sex Education in Public Schools: Progress in the Lone Star State (2011 report)
- Just Say Don’t Know: Sex Education in Texas Public Schools (2009 report)
- The State Board of Education: Dragging Texas Schools into the Culture Wars (2008 report)
- Reading Writing & Religion: Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools (2006 report)
- Broken Promises II (2001 report)
- Broken Promises: Charter Schools in Texas (2000 report)
Texas Freedom Network Congratulates Organized Community Members in Katy ISD as District Rejects Policy Hiring Unqualified Chaplains
Katy ISD voted no on allowing chaplains who are unqualified to act as school counselors to serve as “mental health personnel and support.” […]
Galveston ISD Rejects Policy Hiring Unqualified Chaplains, Texas Freedom Network Congratulates Organized Community Members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 21, 2024 CONTACT: Imelda Mejia, [email protected] HOUSTON — The Galveston ISD Board of Trustees tonight rejected creating a new policy under SB 763 allowing chaplains who are unqualified to act as school counselors to be employed or accepted as volunteers to serve as “mental health personnel and support” in the district’s public […]
Patriotic math? Far-right Texas SBOE sets its 2024 priorities
If the first meeting of 2024 is any indication, too many SBOE members are already more interested in playing politics than educating kids. […]
PragerU Kids Is Twisting Black History One Video at a Time
Content warning: This blog discusses historical racial violence. If you keep up with public education, you’ve probably heard of PragerU by now. Maybe you even followed the controversy when far-right State Board of Education (SBOE) member Julie Pickren falsely claimed it was coming to Texas classrooms last year. Let’s get it straight: PragerU is not […]
